Michigan State sophomore Denzel Valentine delivered in the clutch in the Spartans' 71-69 victory at Iowa on Tuesday night in Iowa City.AP Photo

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Denzel Valentine didn't consider the potential consequences had his highlight-worthy pass — over his shoulder, behind his head, though the lane — not found its mark.

"Nah, you got to play in the moment, man,'' Valentine said moments after lifting Michigan State to a 71-69 overtime victory over Iowa on Tuesday night. "We lost the last game, so I told myself we weren't going to lose this one, and I was going to do whatever it took.''

It took plenty from Valentine, who has become the No. 7-ranked Spartans' "glue man" playing shooting guard, small forward and power forward against the No. 15-ranked Hawkeyes (16-5, 5-3 Big Ten).

Valentine stuffed the stat sheet, scoring 12 points on five made shots, including two 3-pointers, while also gathering six rebounds, recording two assists and a steal in his 29 minutes of action.

The sophomore from Lansing would have played even more, but he picked up his fourth foul with 6:55 remaining and Michigan State (19-2, 8-1) trailing 53-51.

The Spartans were down much of the night against a Hawkeyes team that entered the night having won 20 straight at home — one shy of tying a school record.

At halftime, Iowa led 30-26, taking advantage of the absence of Michigan State starting forwards Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson, both of whom are sidelined by injuries.

The Hawkeyes held a commanding 21-14 edge on the boards through the first 20 minutes, and Valentine had yet to pull down his first rebound.

"Denzel did some really good things,'' Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "Got six rebounds in the second half, that was big.''

Izzo just smiled when asked about Valentine's dazzling pass to Matt Costello, which led to the free-throw make that gave the Spartans the lead for good with 1:47 left in overtime.

"It was instinct,'' Valentine said of the pass. "I saw Matt open in the corner, and (Iowa's Melsahn) Basabe was stuck to me, so someone had to be open.''

Valentine came up with a clutch rebound moments after his signature pass, pulling down Costello's missed second free throw and dishing it back to Keith Appling on a possession that ended with a tip-in that made it 67-64.

Valentine said Izzo's half-time talk got the team going.

"We just came back into the locker room and re-grouped,'' Valentine said. "We told each other we have to win this game, and some guys needed to step up, and you saw it: Russ (Byrd) hit that 3-pointer, Matt hit those (five) free throws and Keith (Appling) was hitting his shots.''

Valentine said he and his teammates were able to shrug off the tight whistle the Spartans were getting when they extended on defense.

Iowa had attempted 16 free throws in the first half before Michigan State attempted its first, and the Hawkeyes finished with 43 free-throw attempts to the Spartans' 20.

"It was frustrating, but that's just how the calls went, and we found a way to get the win,'' Valentine said. "It had gotten to be a fast-paced game. They were in the press to speed us up, so we tried to slow it down. In the first half, I took some shots I don't normally take, and I told coach I needed to slow it down.''

But with the game on the line, Valentine was at full speed, dropping jaws with the amazing dish.

"We just need to keep playing hard,'' Valentine said, "and hopefully we can keep winning games home and away.''